


Slaying the Dragon

by khudgens91



Series: Winding Roads [1]
Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Drug Dealing, Drug Use, Drugged Sex, F/M, Forced Prostitution, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Prostitution, Rape/Non-con Elements, Underage Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-15
Updated: 2013-08-15
Packaged: 2017-12-23 14:34:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/927639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khudgens91/pseuds/khudgens91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three abnormals turn up dead at one of the Sanctuary's safe houses in New City. The team's investigation uncovers a new and dangerous drug that is sweeping through the streets of Old City. An unlikely ally joins forces with Magnus to put a stop to the evil. But will Helen become too attached and risk the whole operation?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Helen was jotting down a few notes for their upcoming staff meeting. There were things she needed to address and she didn't want to forget them. Her phone buzzed on the desk beside her, distracting her. Trying to finish her line of thought, she answered absently, not bothering to glance at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Magnus, its Parker. Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all," she replied, putting down her pen. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Captain Parker?"

"I wouldn't call it a pleasure. I've got three bodies on the way to the morgue."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, got a call from a neighbor complaining about the smell. ME says the bodies have been in there for days."

"And where do I come in with all this?"

"The car in the driveway is registered under your name. Address is 2504 Barten Street."

"I see."

That took Helen by surprise. The house in question was a safe house she had in New City. She rarely used it and was currently allowing four college aged abnormals to reside there while they attended school at the local community college. She'd never had any trouble from them. It was strange that they would suddenly turn up dead.

"You said only three bodies, is that correct?"

"Yeah. There was a fourth guy we found holed up in the attic, muttering to himself and talking with people that weren't there. EMT's transported him to St. Paul's where they'll check him out and probably admit him to the psych ward."

"I understand. Thank you for informing me."

"You'll need to come down and ID the bodies for us."

"That won't be a problem."

"I didn't think it would be."

"And Captain?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to stay apprised on the situation, if you please. I'd also appreciate it if you'd let me and my team have a look around the house."

"Sure, Magnus. I can arrange that."

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, Captain, I have a meeting. Good bye."

She hung up quickly, not waiting for a reply. It was a little rude, but she needed to get a handle on the situation. Three dead abnormals and a fourth suffering from some kind of psychotic break; they needed to figure out what had happened. And fast. She knew the Captain would be true to his word and keep her in the loop as to their findings, but her team would be running their own investigation. Speaking of her team, Henry, Kate, and Will were all filing into the room and settling in for what they thought would be a long and boring staff meeting.

"Change of plans, everyone. I just got off the phone with Captain Parker and he informed me that there's been an incident at the Barten Street safe house."

"What kind of incident?" Kate asked.

She'd been the one that had been checking in on the residents once every few weeks and they had quickly become friends.

"I don't know much. Apparently a neighbor called in complaining about a smell. When police arrived they found three bodies and a fourth man in the attic showing signs of some kind of psychosis."

"Wow…that's….wow," Henry said.

"Do they have cause of death yet?" Will asked.

Magnus shook her head.

"That's all I know at the moment. They want us to come identify the bodies and have agreed to let us into the house so we can take a look around for ourselves."

"And what about the survivor?" Kate asked.

"I'd like to see if I can get him released into our custody."

They all nodded in affirmation.

"Henry, see what you can get off the precincts servers. Even with their agreement to share information I don't want any details kept from us. Will, I want you to go up to St. Paul's and see if you can't get the fourth man into our custody. Kate and I will go down to the morgue and ID the bodies. We'll all meet back here before we go take a look at the house. Understood?"

Everyone nodded before splitting up to go about their various assignments. She was watching Kate carefully. The younger woman had formed quite a bond with the little group of abnormals living in the safe house and Helen wanted to make sure she could handle things.

"You don't have to come with me, Kate. You can stay and help Biggie here if you'd like. I know you were friends with them," Helen said quietly, offering Kate an out.

"No, its ok, Doc. I can handle it."

"Very well. Shall we be on our way then?"

* * *

 

A few hours later everyone was back in Helen's office.

"Henry, find anything of use?" Helen asked once they were all seated comfortably.

"Not much. ME put time of death at five days ago. They haven't finished the full autopsy. They're running a tox screen; I'll let you know if they find anything."

"Five days? That's a long time for Erik to be confined in that house with three dead bodies," Helen stated, disbelievingly.

"I don't know, Magnus, this guy is totally out of it. I doubt he has any concept of time. From what I was able to glean from the nurses and just from my own observations, this guy has completely lost his mind. Hallucinations, full conversations with non-existent persons, and every time you try to ask him about the other three roommates all he'll say is 'the green dragon killed them'."

"The green dragon?" Helen asked. "Does that mean anything to anyone?"

All three shook their heads.

"I wasn't able to get them to release Erik into our custody, but I think for the time being he's better off at St. Paul's. They have him isolated from the other patients in that ward and are watching him carefully. There's not much else we'd be able to do for him here."

Magnus nodded in acceptance at his assessment of the situation. It wasn't ideal, but he was probably right.

"Kate, did they seem like the kind of guys who would be into drugs? Should we be expecting anything to turn up on the tox screen?" Magnus asked the younger woman.

"They were your typical college kids. They would drink, maybe smoke a little weed every once and awhile, but I don't see them as the types to be doing anything beyond that. I could be wrong though, you never know."

"The police have concluded their preliminary search of the premises and have agreed to let us in. We'll see if we can't find a few more answers for ourselves," Helen stated.

"We're not likely to find anything after the police have been through there. I'm sure they've already done a thorough search and anything they found would have been taken as evidence," Will informed them.

"Perhaps we'll get lucky," Magnus said, not really having much hope that they'd find anything the police missed.

Even with the bodies having been removed the smell of decomposition and putrefaction was heavy in the air. Half eaten pizza and open cans of beer were scattered across the living room floor, mold growing prolifically and adding to the overall disgustingness of the scene. Furniture was upturned or smashed completely. The police had taped out and marked where the bodies had been found; one had apparently been slumped in the armchair, with a second sprawled across the couch, and the third further up the hall, halfway into the doorway of the little bathroom.

"Where was Erik found?" Will asked Magnus after having a look downstairs.

"In the attic," she told him. "You and I will go check it out. Kate and Henry, look around their rooms, see if there's anything useful in there. Don't forget to use your gloves."

"You got it, Doc," Kate quipped, dragging Henry up the stairs.

The attic smelled of defecation, it was clear that Erik hadn't left any time during the last five days. There had to be a reason he had chosen the attic. Why not go to his bedroom? Perhaps he had stashed something up here. All these thoughts were running through Helen's mind as she shone her flashlight across the small space. Will seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Why would he stay up here for days?"

"Normally people will go someplace familiar; someplace they spend a great deal of time. Why wouldn't he go to his bedroom?"

"Exactly. Maybe he got up here to hide something and then couldn't leave? Or perhaps his hallucinations compelled him to stay up here? He was extremely dehydrated and malnourished when he arrived at the hospital, which indicates that he didn't even leave to eat."

"And what was it he kept saying when asked about his friends?"

"The green dragon did it."

"Interesting."

They both rummaged around as best they could without disturbing too much, but neither came up with anything useful. Will had already left to go check on Kate and Henry, but Helen remained behind, certain that there was something they were missing. Looking up into the rafters she caught the glint of something high above her. She craned her neck, trying to get a better view of whatever was up there. It would have been easy to miss; she'd only happened across it when her light had hit it just right. The question was how to get it down. She called for the rest of her team to join her and they came scrambling into the attic quickly.

"Did you find something, Doc?" Kate panted.

"Do you see that glint up there in the rafters?"

"Yeah, what is that?" Henry asked, squinting up at it.

"I'm not sure."

"How did it get up there?" Will asked skeptically.

"The pads of Erik's fingers and toes can excrete an adhesive substance that would have made it quite possible for him to climb up there," Magnus informed them all calmly.

"So he can climb walls like Spiderman or something?" Henry commented excitedly.

"Or something," Magnus replied, dryly.

"So how are we supposed to get it down?" Kate asked, eyeing the item wearily.

"Henry, you and Will give Kate a boost to see if she can't reach it."

"Why me?" Kate whined.

"Because you weigh less than I do," Magnus replied calmly.

Sighing, her team moved into place. Kate put a foot in each of Will and Henry's cupped hands and the boys lifted her up with a grunt. She had to stretch, practically standing on her tip toes, to reach it, but she was able to grab the object. Once her feet were firmly back on the ground, she handed the little tin over to Magnus. It was an Altoids can. Carefully she opened it to find several green pills with the figure of a dragon stamped into them.

"The green dragon," Will breathed, looking over her shoulder.

"It would appear so," she replied. "I'll need to get this back to the lab and run some tests."

She shut the tin can tightly before placing it in a Ziploc and stuffing it in her pocket.

The results of her tests didn't come back until the next day. The pills were a mixture of heroin and some unknown substance. With the Sanctuary's extensive database, it didn't take her long to determine the added chemical was the venom from a particularly nasty snake-humanoid abnormal.

This particular abnormal looked mostly normal except for the slightly elongated canines, serpentine tongue, and silted pupils. One bite would deliver a lethal dose of venom. This solution must have been diluted and only in small quantities, but it would still be dangerous.

"Hey Doc, the ME finished their autopsy reports and just updated them on the police database," Henry informed her, walking into the lab.

"And?"

"All three were ruled an accidental overdose. Tox screen came back showing they had a mixture of-"

"Heroin and some unidentifiable chemical," Helen finished for him.

"How'd you know?" Henry whined, his thunder stolen out from under him.

"My tests of the pills we found revealed the same thing. The unknown compound they found in their systems is venom from a snake-humanoid abnormal."

"If it's from a snake why call it The Green Dragon?"

"You're guess is as good as mine, Henry."

"Well I guess Dragon does sound cooler," Henry mumbled.

"In small doses, such as in the pills, the venom would most likely only produce an intense high, probably even hallucinations. Phillip, Dustin, and Hayden apparently had a low tolerance and it resulted in their deaths. Erik obviously had a slightly higher tolerance, but low enough that his brain chemistry was irreversibly altered by how much he took."

"So he's on a permanent trip?"

"Basically."

Henry shuddered. She knew him and Ashley had experimented, as most kids do, but thankfully they'd both come out of that phase fairly quickly and no worse for the wear.

"So case closed?"

"Not quite. I want to know where they were getting these drugs. I've never seen anything like it and I'd like to try to put a stop to it if I can."

"Any ideas to who might be behind this?"

"A few. But I want to be sure before I go making any accusations."

"Right. I'll put out some feelers, see if anyone knows anything."

"Thank you, Henry. Have Kate check with any of her old contacts as well."

"You got it, Doc."


	2. Chapter 2

"So a buddy of mine told me that the streets are buzzing about this new drug, The Green Dragon. Says Martelli's the man behind it," Kate informed Magnus a few days later.

Helen nodded. She'd had her suspicions. The fact that he was of the very breed of abnormal whose venom was being used was kind of a give away, but she had wanted to be sure. He'd come to her attention a few years back; however, her run in with the Kabal and Ashley's death had distracted her enough that she'd lost track of him. Apparently he'd risen form a small time pimp to a dope dealer as well in that amount time.

"Thank you, Kate. I appreciate the information."

"So what are you gonna do about this?" The younger woman demanded. She was itching for retribution and Magnus could understand her sentiments.

"Martelli owns a club in Old City. I think I'll pay him a little visit," Helen said tersely.

"Can I come?" Kate was all too eager to get her claws in the man.

Helen shook her head.

"I'll handle this one."

The younger woman swallowed any other comments at the look Magnus gave her. This was not up for negotiation. She would be taking care of things herself. No one took out four of the people under her care without answering to her. She had a bone to pick with Martelli.

"At least let me tag along as back up. I'll stay in the car, I promise," Kate pleaded.

"Very well," Magnus sighed, giving in.

"When are we going?"

"We'll go tonight. It's a Friday, he's sure to be there."

"Right. I'll be ready at eleven."

* * *

 

The club was buzzing with activity as Helen entered. Loud music and bright lights assaulted her senses. Walking over to the bar, she ordered a drink and sipped on it ideally while taking in her surroundings. There was a glass booth on the second floor that she assumed was Martelli's private office. It offered him a perfect view of the club and its patrons. She finished her drink and passed it back to the bartender, paying him.

"I need to speak with Mr. Martelli," she told the young man, her voice brokering no argument.

He looked at her rather skeptically, but reached for the phone without commenting. He spoke briefly through the receiver, voice hushed and eyes repeatedly glancing between her and the glass booth. Magnus turned her own attention up to the booth as well, communicating with her eyes that she meant business. The bartender hung up the phone and went back about his business, not bothering to tell her what had been said. The two hulking men that appeared by her side were confirmation that Martelli had agreed to see her. She rose and followed them silently to the private second floor. They patted her down carefully, which she'd been expecting. Satisfied that she was clean they ushered her into the booth and shut the door behind her.

Magnus took in her new surroundings. It was larger than it looked from below. Two walls of glass offered a view of the club below while the room extended further back affording its occupants more privacy. Martelli was seated behind a giant cherry wood desk, fingers steepled as he watched her carefully, and a wicked smile twisting his features.

"Dr. Magnus, what a pleasant surprise."

Magnus continued to survey the room. There were three sofas set up in a U in the corner, completely hidden from view of downstairs. A young girl was sitting awkwardly on them. She had short sandy brown hair that stuck out in every direction and large chocolate brown eyes. She was a cute little thing, but it was pretty obvious that she was uncomfortable. She was fidgeting and her eyes were scanning the room nervously. Her plump bottom lip was sucked between her teeth and she was chewing fiercely on it.

"What can I do for you, Dr. Magnus?" Martelli asked, beginning to lose his patience.

"I wanted to talk to you about The Green Dragon," Magnus said, firmly.

At the mention of the drug the girl on the sofa jumped, letting out a small squeak, and her eyes locked on Magnus. Her fingers itched at the exposed skin of her arm and her fidgeting became worse.

"I'm here to warn you, Martelli," Magnus continued, taking her eyes off the girl to glare menacingly at him.

"Is that right?" Martelli chuckled.

"I have three dead abnormals and a fourth that's suffering from permanent brain damage from your little drug. I don't take kindly to anyone harming the people under my care."

"Those young men, whoever they were, took the drugs of their own free will. You can hardly blame me."

"I can and I do."

"Not my problem" Martelli shrugged.

"That's where you're wrong, Martelli. I'm giving you one warning; take the drugs off the streets or you'll have me to deal with."

Martelli raised an eyebrow at her.

"What you seem to fail to realize is that even if I do cease and desist, someone else will come along to replace me."

"And I'll deal with them as well when the time comes. Just as I've dealt with the countless before you."

"There will always be a demand for what it is I'm selling. Even you can't eliminate that," he countered.

Magnus shrugged dismissively.

"Tell me, Helen…may I call you Helen?"

"I'd rather you didn't," she said acidly.

"Tell me, Helen," he continued, ignoring her. "Have you tried The Green Dragon?"

"Of course not," she scoffed, surprised by his question.

"You might change your mind if you tried it. I think you'd find it quite…liberating."

The absurdity of his statement made her laugh.

"No thank you."

"You're a doctor; you know that drugs aren't always a bad thing. They can be quite good, in fact. Who are you to decide if my creation is a bad thing?"

"You killed three people! And those are only the ones I'm aware of, who knows how many others there have been."

"Anything has the potential to kill if you take too much of it, even legal drugs that you use every day," Martelli countered.

Helen ground her teeth together.

"There's a difference and you know it. I'm not going to tell you again, Martelli, stop putting your drugs on the street or suffer the consequences."

"Careful what you say, Dr. Magnus. I'm not a man you want to fool with."

Helen snorted.

"You should know that I don't make idle threats. I can and I will destroy you if I have to."

The girl on the sofa was staring at her dumbfounded. Clearly she'd never seen someone stand up to Martelli.

"It was very unwise of you to come into my establishment and threaten me," Martelli growled, pushing a button on his desk.

The goons from earlier were back in an instant.

"Remove Dr. Magnus immediately," Martelli instructed tersely.

One of the men stepped towards her, grabbing her by the arm so tightly she would probably have bruises. Magnus looked down at his hand and then slowly back up at him, raising a single eyebrow. With a practiced efficiency she grabbed his wrist with her free hand and twisted violently until he was forced to release her. She continued to twist on his arm, bending his elbow up so that it was pinned to his back painfully. With a little more pressure she heard the pop of his shoulder dislocated and the man cried out in surprise and pain. The second man chose that moment to rush towards her. Shifting her weight, she kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling across the floor. She released the first man and he turned to face her, swinging his uninjured arm out in an attempt to hit her. She ducked his blow gracefully, squatting low and sweeping her leg across the floor so it knocked him off his feet. Once down, she slammed an elbow into his stomach and his breath came wheezing out of him in a puff.

"That won't be necessary, gentlemen," Magnus said calmly, not even the slightest bit out of breath as she rose to her feet. "I've said what I came here to say. I'll just be on my way."

Martelli was glaring daggers at her; she flashed him a brilliant smile in return.

"You would do well to heed my warning, Martelli," she told him quietly before turning towards the door.

She glanced back over at the girl on the sofas as she made to leave. The girl's eyes were as big as saucers, flitting between Martelli, the still recovering body guards, and Magnus. She waited for the girl to make one more circuit of the three of them. When her eyes once again landed on Helen, she made sure to catch and hold her gaze. Giving her a reassuring smile and a wink, Magnus exited the room casually, smirking as the sound of Martelli's curses followed her out.

* * *

 

Everyone had long since gone to bed, but Helen remained up working on paperwork in the confines of her office. The beeping on her monitors distracted her from the report she had been reading. Someone was at the gate. She wasn't sure who would be trying to get in at this late hour. Zooming the camera in to the figure pacing in front of her gate, Magnus was rather surprised to see the girl from Martelli's club. She seemed a little unsteady on her feet and Helen could only guess as to why. The girl had obviously been with Martelli to get her next fix. It was always sad when they were so young. She was such a cute girl too, no doubt smart as well, a bright future ahead of her if she could clean her act up.

The girl seemed to notice the camera, staring up at it expectantly.

"You gonna let me in or what?" she asked, impatient.

Helen chuckled, buzzing the gate open to allow her access before going to meet her.

"Can I help you?" Magnus asked, opening the front door.

"You're the hot doctor that told Martelli what was what earlier," the girl stated, looking Magnus up and down.

"Indeed," she chuckled at the girl's description of her.

"I want to help you."

She hadn't been expecting that. Magnus raised an eyebrow at her, but stepped aside to let her in. Shutting the door behind her, Magnus stared her down trying to get a read on if she was serious or just playing an angle. The girl fidgeted under her searching gaze.

"What's your name?"

"Madi."

"Well come on, Madi, my office is this way."

Madi followed her quietly, taking in her surroundings with wide eyes. Magnus directed her to sit down once in her office. Madi sat on the edge of the sofa, back straight and eyes flitting around the room. Poor girl looked terrified.

"You're safe here," Helen reassured her.

Madi seemed to relax slightly. Her eyes focused on Helen, blue-grey meeting Magnus's deep blue. The change in color surprised her. She could have sworn she saw brown back at the club.

"Would you like some tea?" Magnus offered.

"Maybe just some water?"

"Of course."

She handed Madi a bottle of water from behind her desk and the girl took a long swig.

"Why are you here?" Helen asked quietly.

"I told you, I want to help you take out Martelli."

"Why?"

"Because he isn't a very nice guy," Madi stated simply.

Magnus continued to stare at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"It's the only way I'll ever be free," Madi sighed, pulling down the collar of her shirt to reveal a green dragon tattooed across the top of her left breast.

"How long?" The question was a whisper, but Madi heard it.

Taking another drink of water, she avoided Helen's eyes.

"Four years," Madi mumbled.

Magnus frowned.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

That made her furious. The bastard.

"I can tell you where he makes the drugs. But in exchange I want your protection."

"Why not go to the police with this information. What makes you think I can offer you what you're asking?"

Madi snorted.

"Please, the police are a joke. Martelli has enough of them on his payroll that he'd know almost immediately. Besides, I saw the way you handled those guys tonight and it's not like I haven't heard of you before. Everyone knows who you are and what you do here."

"Is that right? Everyone?"

"Everyone in my circles at least," Madi shrugged.

"You're an abnormal," Helen surmised, reading between the lines.

"Something like that, but that's not the point. Do we have a deal or not?"

"Very well."

Madi let out a huge breath, sagging back into the sofa.

"It's late, let's continue this tomorrow. I can show you to a room," Magnus said, rising to her feet and holding her hand out to the young woman.

Madi's eyes racking up and down Helen's body for the second time that night before shaking her head. Magnus frowned; didn't she just say she wanted her help?

"I can't stay here."

"Why ever not?"

"Martelli can't know that I was here."

"I don't understand. I thought you wanted our protection."

"I do, but I need time to get the information you need."

"I thought you already had the location of the lab."

Madi shook her head solemnly.

"But I can get it!" She assured Magnus quickly.

"I don't like the idea of sending you back out to him. I can't protect you out there."

"It's the only way," Madi said stubbornly.

"Fine," Magnus sighed, walking over to her desk and digging through one of the drawers.

Pulling out a burner phone she passed it to Madi.

"I want daily updates."

"That's going to be difficult."

"Find a way. I need to know you're safe."

"I don't know how long it will take for me to get the location out of him."

"I understand, but if at any point it looks like he's becoming suspicious I reserve the right to pull you out."

"Ok."

Magnus looked the girl over. What she was doing was incredibly brave and she had a great deal of respect for her. She sincerely hoped that she would be able to protect Madi, but she knew from experience that things didn't always go well in situations like this. Guys like Martelli didn't take kindly to rats.

"You're sure about this?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

"Very well."

Magnus led Madi out of the Sanctuary through a back route that not many people knew about, down through the catacombs and tunnels.

"If you need to get in, use this entrance," she instructed the girl.

"Ok. I'll be in contact."

"Good."

Magnus stared down at the shorter woman, something in her heart stirring for this girl. To her credit, Madi didn't look away and Helen was struck once again by her brevity. Not many people had the courage to do what she was. She pushed an errant strand of hair behind Madi's ear, her finger tips brushing across the girl's skin. She heard Madi's breathe hitch in her throat and Helen smiled down at her softly.

"Be safe."

"I will," Madi whispered before melting into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't trust her." Will stated emphatically the next evening when she informed her team of the new turn of events.

"You've never even met the girl, William," Magnus chided.

"Yeah, Will, give the girl a chance," Kate added.

"Why come to us instead of the cops though?" He continued.

"She doesn't trust the cops, says Martelli has some on his payroll and he'd find out if she went to them."

"Well what are we supposed to do that the cops can't?"

"It isn't the first time that we've been able to provide assistance that the police could not," Magnus pointed out.

"But what happens after she gets the location of where he's making the drugs? What can we do about it? Even if we shut that location down, what's to stop him from just picking it up somewhere else?"

"He's got a point, Doc," Kate agreed. "If we're gonna really stop him for good, we'll have to get the cops involved at some point. If we go to them with enough evidence they'll have no choice but to lock him up, no matter who he's got on his payroll. And if she can get a list of whose dirty that would be even better."

"I trust Captain Parker. When the time is right, I'll go to him with what information I have. Until then, we deal with this ourselves."

"I ran the tests you asked me to, Doc," Henry announced, finally joining them.

"What tests?" Will asked.

"The Doc got the girl's finger prints off a water bottle she was drinking from and asked me to run it through the system."

"Nice work, Doc!" Kate praised.

"What did you find, Henry?"

"Well she has a record. Most of it is from before she turned eighteen and was sealed in her juvie records, but I was able to hack my way in."

"Of course you were, Hank."

Henry smiled, proud of himself.

"Overall, it's nothing too serious. Including the stuff from when she was a juvie up until the most recent; some shoplifting, a few charges of prostitution, a PI, and a possession charge. I did some more digging as well; her real name is Madilynn Samuels. Her parents died in a car wreck when she was little and she became a ward of the state. Bounced around a few foster homes before running away at fifteen. That must have been when she got tangled up with Martelli. I also ran a tox screen off the saliva you got from the rim of the bottle and it came back positive for several different things."

"Such as…" Will prompted.

"Marijuana, cocaine, opiates, the venom they're using in The Green Dragon, benzos. You name it; the girl had it in her system."

"Well that really boosts my confidence," Will grumbled.

"That's life on the street though," Kate countered. "I would have failed a drug test when I came on board here."

"You did," Henry stated, matter-of-factly.

"You ran a drug test on me?"

"Focus, Kate," Magnus interrupted. "Good job, Henry."

"So where does this leave us?" Will continued.

"She doesn't know how long it will take her to get the location of his lab, but she's supposed to check in with me daily."

"Daily? Isn't that a bit risky, Magnus? What if she gets caught?" Kate said, skeptically.

"It's a necessary risk. I want to know that she's ok. But I do want you to work on some kind of tracking device I can give her that Martelli won't be able to detect and is inconspicuous enough that it won't draw any attention, Henry."

"Sure thing, Doc. Any suggestions?"

"She has several piercings, perhaps a stud she could put in one of them?"

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Henry."

"Are we going to be meeting her anytime soon?" Will asked.

"I don't believe so. If you don't know what she looks like or she you, the less likely for her cover to be blown should one of you run into the other."

"Makes sense," Kate agreed.

"So what do we do in the mean time?" Will asked.

"There isn't much we can do," Helen told her team. "We'll just have to go about business as usual."

* * *

 

"Thank you for meeting me," Helen said as Madi slipped into her car.

They had met up at the docks, Magnus's car tucked into one of the many alley ways, her lights dark and the engine off. They'd been in regular contact for about a week now and this was their first meeting since the night Madi had come to the Sanctuary.

"I can't stay long."

"I know."

"What is it you want?" Madi hissed, not thinking Helen understood how big of a risk she was taking by being here.

"I have a few things for you," she told the girl, nodding towards the glove box.

Madi opened it cautiously, pulling out the small bundle stuffed there. Placing it on her lap, she unwrapped it to survey the items inside. There was a roll of cash, a jar with what looked like several different kinds of body jewelry, a small business card for a bar in Old City with a name scrawled on the back, a small pistol, and an extra clip. Madi expertly checked the safety on the weapon and released the clip to see if it was loaded. Magnus tried not to think about where she'd learned to handle a gun.

"Most of that is pretty self explanatory. The card is for a bar that is owned by a contact of mine. It's relatively close to Martelli's club. If you're ever in trouble you can go there and you'll be taken care of. The name on the back is the owner. Ask for him, then say you left your polka-dotted umbrella and could you please look in the lost and found for it. He'll know what to do."

Madi nodded in understanding.

"What's this?" she asked, shaking the jar of body jewelry.

"My tech guy designed them. They're gps trackers. We weren't sure which ones you could use, so we just made several different kinds."

"Clever," Madi commented.

"Pick one and I'll take the rest back with me."

Madi dumped the jewelry into her palm, inspecting each one carefully.

"Will my saliva short circuit this one or anything?" she asked, holding up the tongue stud.

"I was assured that it would not."

Madi dropped the rest of the jewelry back into the little jar and passed it to Helen. Pulling down her visor so she could look in the little mirror there, she stuck her tongue out and unscrewed the current jewelry replacing it with Henry's gps enhanced stud. The old one she stuffed in her pocket.

"I've never understood why anyone would want one of those," Magnus commented dryly.

Madi looked over at her and grinned devilishly.

"Ever been eaten out by someone who had one?"

"No, can't say that I have," Helen replied, laughing quietly.

"Guys love me to give them blowjobs with it in. It's pretty damn good for girls too. Try it sometime and see if that doesn't change your mind."

Magnus was taken a little aback by Madi's bluntness. It wasn't that she was a prude, far from it; she just hadn't been expecting the conversation to take this turn.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"If I survive this, I'll prove it to you," Madi offered off handedly.

Magnus gapped at her, even more thrown off guard.

"Oh don't look so shocked. I doubt it'd be your first time to have a girl go down on you," Madi smirked.

"Behave yourself, Madilynn," Helen snapped a little more forcefully than she'd intended.

But Madi didn't seem to take it the wrong way, instead chuckling under her breath smugly.

It was true that she had been with quite a few women and Magnus wouldn't deny that Madi was beautiful, but she was way too young for her. She wasn't normally one to put much stock in age, but she drew the line with teenagers, even if Madi had experienced much more of life than most normal teens.

"Anything else you wanted?" Madi interrupted Helen's train of thought.

"Do you have any new information?"

"Martelli has a ledger with the names of everyone on his payroll. He keeps it in a safe in his bedroom."

"Can you get your hands on it?"

"I can try. The problem will be figuring out the combination."

"I'll have Henry work on something that could hack it for you."

"Great."

"Any clues to where he's making the drugs?"

At the mention of The Green Dragon, Madi fidgeted in her seat, sniffing loudly and scratching at her arm. Her reaction wasn't lost on Magnus.

"Are you still taking it?" Magnus asked incredulously, already knowing the answer.

"I can't very well just stop now can I?" Madi snapped defensively. "It'd be pretty damn suspicious, don't you think?"

Magnus sighed.

"You're right. Just be careful. That stuff is dangerous."

"I know what's at stake," Madi said curtly, still on the defense.

"Of course you do, I didn't mean to imply…" Helen trailed off feebly.

They were both silent for awhile, Madi slowly stilling in her seat and Helen picking at non-existent pieces of lent on her skirt.

"He's not using his own venom," Madi mumbled finally.

"Where's he getting it then?"

"He has…donors."

"That's appalling," Magnus huffed.

"He keeps them where ever it is they make the drugs. I'm not sure how many he has. I overheard him talking to someone about making sure they were at least healthy enough to be able to produce viable venom."

"Bastard."

"I'll have more information soon. His right hand man, Claude, talks in his sleep and I've been experimenting with getting stuff out of him that way. Not to mention he's been sending me to some of his more important associates and you'd be surprised at what men will say during sex if you know the right way to ask."

Helen felt sick at her stomach at the way Madi so casually spoke about her sexual exploits. Martelli should be castrated for what he was doing to not just Madi but all the other girls he used.

"We can pull you out at anytime," Magnus reminded her.

"Don't be silly, Magnus. I can do this. I don't have to tell you how I'm getting the information if it makes you uncomfortable. It's just so normal for me, I don't think about how it must sound to you," Madi said, picking up on Helen's emotions.

"It shouldn't be normal for you; that's the thing. You should never have been forced into this lifestyle to begin with," Helen tried to explain.

"But I was. I chose this."

"Don't be silly. You were young, Martelli took advantage."

"He could support my habits; it seemed like a small price to pay back then," Madi shrugged. "By the time I wanted to get out, I couldn't. I was in too deep."

"When this is over, I promise you won't have to live like this anymore," Helen whispered, running the backs of her fingers across Madi's cheek.

Madi leaned in to the touch and smiled over at Helen in the darkness. Magnus went to pull her hand away, put Madi caught it before she could and held it against her cheek.

"I don't want to be like this anymore, but this is all I know," she breathed so quietly Magnus almost missed it.

Helen felt a warm tear trickle down Madi's cheek and she swept it away with her thumb.

"Please don't cry, darling."

But the flood gates had been breached and Madi wasn't able to stop the tears. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried. Of course she'd cried herself to sleep in the early months with Martelli, but she had long sense become numb to the atrocities of her life. Sobs wracked through her body, shaking her too thin frame.

Magnus let her seat back as far as it would go from the steering wheel before reaching across the small space and pulling Madi into her lap. Madi buried her face in Helen's neck and clung to her. Magnus held her while she wept, rubbing soothing circles on her back, stroking her hair, and whispering reassurances in her ear.

Eventually her tears ran out. She hiccupped quietly against Helen's neck and sniffled, her nose completely stopped up. Magnus could feel the girl's warm breath fan across her wet skin. She continued to hold Madi, not wanting to let the fragile little girl back out into the big bad world she was mixed up in.

"I got snot all over you. I'm sorry," Madi mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, darling."

Madi shifted slightly so she could bring her arm up to wipe away the wetness with her jacket sleeve, swiping it across her tear stained cheeks at the same time. Sniffing again, she settled back into Helen's arms, burrowing her face in her neck once again. They stayed like that for awhile longer, neither wanting to go back to the way things were outside the safe little bubble they'd created for themselves.

"Madilynn, as much as I don't want you to go, you need to be getting back," Magnus finally said, sighing deeply.

"You don't want me to go?"

"Of course, I don't! I'd much rather you come back to the Sanctuary with me, away from Martelli and all the terrible things you have to face every day. But that has to be your choice. Just say the word and I'll sweep you away."

"My very own knight in shining armor," Madi mused.

"Something like that," Helen said, chuckling.

"I want Martelli stopped. I want to make sure he can't hurt anyone else, ever."

"That's a very noble goal."

"After that you can sweep me away to your castle and have your way with me," Madi teased, though Magnus could hear that not all of it was a joke.

"Hmm, we'll see about it," Helen said sternly, not wanting to lead the girl on.

"You know you want to," Madi whispered.

Madi tentatively pressed her lips to Helen's neck, testing what her reaction would be. When she wasn't stopped she did it again, her tongue darting out to taste Helen's skin. That's when she got the warning.

"Madilynn…"

"Yes, Helen?" She kissed her again, sucking lightly at the creamy flesh in front of her.

"Don't."

"Don't what, Helen?" She dropped more kisses on her neck, moving up to nip Magnus' earlobe.

Helen didn't pull Madi off her body, didn't flinch away from the soft lips peppering her skin. But she wasn't going to let it go much further and they both knew it.

Magnus moved so that she could turn her head and look at Madi. She cupped her face, thumb rubbing softly across her cheek bone.

"I'll make you a deal, ok?"

"Depends…what's the deal?"

"Let's get you through this and then we'll see where things go from there."

Madi scowled, her brows furrowing in the cutest way possible.

"I don't like that deal. We don't know how long this could take."

"Anticipation is half the fun, darling."

"Not really," Madi grumbled.

Magnus chuckled at her impatience, but still wasn't willing to let things go further. She was probably the first person Madi had felt safe with in a very long time; she didn't want that to be mistaken for attraction. Sex was all Madi knew; it was how she'd learned to show affection of any kind. The last thing Helen wanted was for her to offer up sex out of some kind of obligation. She knew that Madi would regret it later if they slept together now. She couldn't do that to the girl. Maybe there could be something between them in the future, but it was a big maybe and it would be awhile before she'd even consider it.

"You need to be getting back," Magnus said, changing tactics. "You've been gone too long already."

"What time is it?"

"Almost two."

"Shit! I'm supposed to be at the club when it closes."

Madi scrambled quickly out of Helen's lap, completely distracted for the time being.

"I'll drop you a few blocks away," Helen offered, fastening her seat belt.

"No, it's ok. It's not all that far."

"Are you sure?"

Madi nodded once before stuffing her little bundle of goodies in her satchel and exiting the vehicle. Helen waited ten minutes before starting the car and heading back to the Sanctuary.


	4. Chapter 4

Helen Magnus was a light sleeper; when she managed to get some sleep, that is. So the beeping from the tablet on her bedside table woke her quickly. She'd taken to keeping it with her at night so that she would hear if there was a perimeter breech indicating that Madi was coming into the Sanctuary. In the last month she'd never had to use the hidden entrance Helen had shown her, but Magnus had kept the tablet close just in case. It was a good thing she had too, since the girl had chosen tonight to finally take advantage of the little known tunnel.

Glancing at her alarm, she read 3:42 in the morning. She had the sinking feeling that something wasn't right. If Madi needed to talk with her she always called on the burner phone Helen had given her. There was no reason she should be trying to get into the Sanctuary unless something was wrong. Magnus was out of bed in an instant, not taking the time to find her robe on the way out of her bedroom, opting to make due in her pale blue silk nighty.

Henry had a similar tablet that would have alerted him to the intrusion and had apparently heard the alarm as well because she ran into him on her way down to the catacombs.

"What's going on, Doc? Sensors show a perimeter breech in the tunnels," Henry asked through a yawn.

"I think it's Madi. I told her to use that entrance if she ever needed to."

"You think something's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. She didn't call ahead, so my guess would be yes," Magnus told him curtly, fear gnawing away at her stomach.

She expected to find the girl before they'd hit the tunnels, but she was nowhere to be seen, which only added to Magnus's concern. Thankfully Henry had thought to grab a flashlight, illuminating the dark tunnel around them. They made it halfway to the exit before finding her.

Madi was crumpled on the dirt floor, not moving. Magnus swore before rushing to her side. She'd obviously been man-handled, bruises in the shape of hand prints were already forming on her upper arms, but Helen couldn't find any serious injuries that would account for her unconscious state. Her pulse was weak and her breathing was shallow. She placed a hand on Madi's forehead; the skin was sweaty, but not feverish. Pulling back her eye lids, Magnus found her pupils constricted to pinpricks.

"We need to get her back to the infirmary," she announced. "Do you think you can carry her, Henry?"

"Sure Doc, I can try."

"Careful of her shoulder, it's dislocated."

"Right," he said, bending down and hefting her into his arms with a grunt.

Magnus ran ahead to find a gurney. He was just emerging from the catacombs when she made it back with a bed. Henry deposited the unconscious girl carefully, trying to be as gentle as possible. They began to wheel her toward the infirmary. As they moved through the double doors the wheels caught on the metal strip that ran along the ground, jarring the gurney harshly and causing Madi to groan softly.

"Madi, can you hear me?" Helen asked, taking the girl's clammy face in her hands.

Her only response was another groan.

"I need to set your shoulder now," Helen told her. "I can't give you anything for the pain because I don't know what you've taken already so this may hurt."

She nodded silently to Henry who moved to help her hold Madi down. Once they were sure she was restrained adequately, Magnus took her arm, bending the elbow at a ninety degree angle before pushing back on the shoulder. Madi grunted, eyes fluttering open and body arching against their hold on her.

"Madi, I need you stay still," Helen told her firmly.

"Hurts," Madi whimpered.

"I know it does, but I have to set it. I promise it will feel better once I do. Just take a deep breath for me."

Madi followed her instructions, sucking in a huge breath.

"Good, now let it out slowly."

As she exhaled, Magnus snapped her shoulder back into place quickly. Even with whatever drugs were coursing through her system, Madi cried out from the pain.

"Shhh, it's over now, sweetheart," Helen told her, stroking her hair gently.

Henry helped her pull the bed into a sitting position, stuffing some pillows behind Madi to make her more comfortable.

" 'elen?" Madi slurred, looking around for her.

"I'm right here," she said, sitting on the bed beside her.

"You're sooo purdy," Madi giggled, smiling stupidly at her.

"Thank you, darling," Magnus chuckled.

"Wow, she's majorly strung out, isn't she?" Henry commented from his spot off to the side of them.

"Oo's that?"

"That's Henry," Helen told her.

"Renry?"

" 'Sup," Henry told her, moving so she could see him and giving her a little wave.

Madi smiled crookedly at him.

"You made my tongue ring?"

"Yeah," he shrugged; surprised she could remember that in her current state.

"I like it. Wear it aaallll the time. See," she told him, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Ha! I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"Mhmm," Madi hummed, her eyes beginning to droop again.

"Madilynn," Helen said, cupping her face to get her attention. "I need you to tell me what it was you took and how much of it you did. Can you do that for me, darling?"

"He wanted me to try a new way."

"What new way?"

"Lick-wid."

"Liquid what?"

"Green Dragon."

"Dear lord. How much did he give you?"

"Not sure. I told 'im no…I tried to fight 'im off, but 'e was too ssstrong."

"We're going to get you all taken care of. Don't you worry."

" 'elen?" Madi slurred again, reaching for Helen.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Magnus said, catching her hand and pressing it against her cheek.

"Can I go to sleep now?"

"Sure," Helen reassured her, placing her hand back on the bed.

"One more thing," Madi said, fighting to stay conscious.

"What is it?"

Madi waved her closer. Helen leaned towards her slightly, but Madi continued to motion her forward like she wanted to whisper something in her ear.

" 'ticaption is o'rated," she told the older woman, taking Helen's chin in her hand and turning her face so that their lips met for a sloppy kiss.

Pulling away from her, Magnus couldn't help but laugh. Madi slumped back into the pillows, grinning like the cat that got the cream.

"Better ness time," Madi promised. "Cou'n resiss anymore."

"Sleep now, darling," Helen told her softly. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"K."

As her eyes were drifting shut, Helen stroked a knuckle across her cheek softly. Leaning in, she pressed her lips to Madi's tenderly. The younger woman hummed contentedly one last time before drifting out of consciousness. Magnus let out a long breath, resting her forehead on Madi's, closing her eyes to the rest of the world. It wasn't until Henry cleared his throat awkwardly that she remembered he was in the room.

"Thank you for your help, Henry," she told him, rising from the bed and giving him a small smile. "You can go back to bed now if you want."

"You sure you don't need anything else, Doc?"

"I can handle things from here."

"You don't want to go, you know, change or something?"

Magnus glanced down at her rather scantily clad form. She'd completely forgotten her lack of clothing.

"Yes, of course," she conceded.

"I'll stay with her until you get back," he promised.

"I won't be long."

"Take your time."

"Thank you," she said again.

"No problem," he told her with a sweet smile.

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before heading back up to her room for a change of clothes.

* * *

With Madi unconscious it afforded Magnus the opportunity to run a few tests to determine that she was indeed unharmed. Other than the dislocated shoulder, which was now in a sling, Madi's injuries were only superficial. The bruising would go away in a few days.

Unfortunately, without Madi awake and able to explain what happened, Helen's mind was coming up with the worst possible scenarios. Was her cover blown? Would they have to scrub the whole mission? Had she been able to get the location of where they were making the drugs?

The new delivery method of The Green Dragon was unsettling to Magnus. It would be much easier for people to overdose from shooting up, it was too similar to an actual bite. At least with the pills the venom would be dissolved through the stomach gradually. With an injectable liquid it hit the blood stream directly and that could be very dangerous. Madi had built up a tolerance from her continual usage, which was probably the only thing that saved her, but Magnus didn't want to risk her trying that again.

Even if Madi's cover was still in place, Magnus didn't want her going back out there. Seeing her collapsed in the catacombs, abused and strung out on drugs had been too much for Helen. She'd grown quite attached to little Madilynn over the last month. They would find another way to stop Martelli; one that didn't put Madi's life in jeopardy. It had become too dangerous, too much of a risk; the stakes were no longer acceptable to her.

Currently, Magnus was sitting next to Madi's bedside, a position she hadn't left but the one time early that morning. She'd had Will bring her laptop down to the infirmary so that she could get some work done while she waited for Madi to wake. It was mid-afternoon when Madi finally began to stir. Noticing, Magnus shut her laptop quickly and pushed it aside.

"Madilynn?"

Madi groaned, her eyes fluttering open and then shutting tightly against the bright lights of the infirmary.

"Madilynn?" Helen repeated, running her fingers down the girl's jaw line. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," Madi grumbled, opening her eyes slowly. "Where am I?"

Magnus frowned; did Madi not remember coming to the Sanctuary?

"You're in the Sanctuary, Madilynn."

"What? No! I can't be here. How long have I been out?" Madi said, beginning to panic.

"You used the tunnel entrance early this morning. It's late afternoon now."

"I need to get back."

Madi made to get out of the bed, but Magnus stopped her.

"You aren't going anywhere," Helen told her firmly.

"I need to find my phone, where's my satchel?" Madi insisted, struggling feebly against Magnus's hold on her.

"It's right here," Helen told her, plucking the item in question from the floor by the bed.

Madi let out an audible sigh of relief at the sight of it. Clutching it tightly, she reached inside to dig out her phone.

"Expecting a call?"

"Yeah, Martelli has a monthly poker game. It's tonight. All the major players will be there. He usually gets one of us to come…entertain them. I think this will be the perfect opportunity to not only find out where they're making the drugs, but also get my hands on his ledger. I was hoping that Henry would have something worked up by now to get me into the safe."

Helen sighed, taking Madi's hand.

"I've been thinking, Madilynn, and we need to have a talk."

"That doesn't sound good," Madi said, frowning.

"I don't want you going back out there. It's too dangerous."

"But you said it would be my choice when I wanted to pull out."

"I know I did, but after last night…" Magnus trailed off, gnawing at her bottom lip.

"I scared you," Madi stated, shocked.

"Yes," Helen whispered, looking straight into Madi's stormy grey eyes.

A soft smile graced Madi's lips, it wasn't mocking or belittling, it was kind and understanding. Her hand came up to cup Helen's face, her thumb stroking across the cheek bone.

"Nothing I say will change your mind?"

"No."

"Ok," Madi sighed, closing her eyes and nodding once. "But you owe me."

She was back to her playful banter and Magnus let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. That had gone much better than she'd thought. She'd expected the girl to protest and put up a fight. Her easy compliance was bit of a shock, but Helen chose not to question it.

"I'm sure I'll find a way to make it up to you somehow."

"You better."

* * *

"Madilynn, I would like you to meet my team," Magnus announced that evening when they were all gathered in her office. "This is Will, Kate, and you've already met Henry."

She pointed to each of them in turn. Henry smiled sheepishly, Will was watching her carefully, and Kate was giving her a reassuring grin.

"Um, nice to meet you?"

"We've heard alot about you, kid. What you're doing is pretty brave," Kate said, coming over to punch Madi lightly on her uninjured shoulder. Madi smiled weakly at the other woman. Magnus suspected that the two of them would get along quite well in the future.

"So what made you suddenly decide to turn the tables?" Will asked, still suspicious of her.

"It wasn't suddenly, I've been looking for an out for awhile now," Madi replied, defensively, picking up on his skepticism.

Magnus shot him a warning look.

"Madilynn, why don't you explain to us what happened last night?" Helen prompted, indicating she should sit.

"Well, I was at the club. I needed some more pills," Madi told them, looking down at her feet at her confession.

"And of course, Martelli was all too willing to fork them over…at a price," Kate supplied dryly.

"Yeah," Madi continued. "I told him I needed more. I…paid for them, but after he said he had something new for me to try. I told him I just wanted my regular, but he insisted. Said he needed someone to test it on. When I tried to leave, her grabbed me. Markus, one of his goons, held me while Martelli stuck the needle in my arm. It hit me hard, fast; everything's kind of fuzzy after that."

"Do you remember anything at all?" Helen coaxed.

"I remember Markus…had some fun with me," Madi's hazel eyes flitted over to Magnus briefly before looking down at the floor again. "Then Tommy burst in."

"Who's Tommy?" Will interrupted.

"He's another one of Martelli's goons. He's a pretty ok guy though. He's never hurt me or asked me to do him any kind of favors. He looks after most of the girls when he can."

"What happened after Tommy came in?" Kate asked.

"There were loud voices, I guess they were fighting or something, but I don't remember what they were saying. I tried to get up, but everything was spinning. I got to the door, but then Markus grabbed my arm. I tried to pull away, but he had a good grip on me and my shoulder popped. I literally felt it pop, but it didn't really hurt, not as much as it should have. It was like I was outside my body, watching what was going on. I was pretty numb at that point. Tommy punched Markus, which made him let go, and I ran."

Magnus ground her teeth together, a deep sense of protectiveness rising in her. Madi's words painted a grim picture that made Helen sick to her stomach. It only strengthened her resolve that she wasn't going to let Madi go back to that world. If she could help it, Madi would never have to face anything like that again.

"After that I only have flashes of random stuff."

"So how did you make it all the way to the Sanctuary? That's quite a ways," Henry piped up.

"I guess I walked, I don't know. I remember digging around in my purse for my smokes at one point, but I couldn't get my hands to work right and ended up burning the tip of my nose with the lighter," Madi said, rubbing her nose reflexively.

"Can't say I haven't been there though," Kate joked, winking conspiratorially at her.

"I remember looking at the stars and feeling like I was falling up into them, if that makes sense."

"Have you experience alot of drug induced hallucinations before, Madilynn?" Will inquired.

"That's none of your business," Madi snapped. "And it's Madi."

Madi's phone chirped and she dug it out of her satchel. She stared down at the little screen for several seconds, taking to chewing at her bottom lip nervously.

"What is it, Madi?" Helen asked, concerned.

"It's nothing. Tommy just checking up on me, making sure I'm ok," Madi replied easily, her thumbs typing out a response. "I told him I was fine. Slept it off at a friend's."

Helen frowned, not really believing what Madi was telling her.

"It's not uncommon to have hallucinations while on The Green Dragon though," Madi continued. "Some of the other girls have seen some pretty wicked things. My friend Sarah, she was never the same after one of her trips."

"That's similar to what happened with Erik," Henry commented.

"Is there a restroom anywhere around here?" Madi asked quietly, beginning to fidget in her seat.

"Yeah, I'll show you," Henry offered, moving to get up off the sofa.

"No, don't bother," Madi replied quickly, jumping to her feet. "I'd rather you just tell me."

"It's just down the hall, fourth door on you left, dear," Magnus cut in.

Before anyone could say anything else to her, Madi darted from the room. Helen frowned, her eyes following the girl out.

"Well that wasn't the least bit suspicious," Will griped.

"Oh shut it, Will," Kate shot back.

"Stop it both of you," Helen told them sternly.

Madi was gone for several minutes. Just when Magnus was beginning to get worried, the girl came waltzing back into the room. She resumed her seat casually, noticeably calmer.

"You don't have any recollection of how you made your way to the Sanctuary, Madi?" Magnus asked once she was comfortable. Madi shook her head.

"Like I said, I only have a few brief flashes from after I left the club. I was coming in and out. At one point, when I came to you were there, so I figured I was just hallucinating. That's why I was so confused when I woke up here."

"Well I'm glad you found your way here," Henry told her sincerely.

"Thanks. Me too." Madi gave them all a dazzling smile.

Magnus watched Henry and Will melt under her spell, she herself feeling slightly enraptured by the stunning young woman. Kate was the only one seemingly unaffected as she smirked at the rest of them.

"How 'bout a tour, Madi?" She offered.

Madi looked over at Helen, asking permission with her big grey eyes. Magnus noted the change in color since her trip to the bathroom, but nodded her head in approval.

"Cool!" Kate said, getting to her feet. "I can't wait to introduce you to Sally."

"Who's Sally?"

"The mermaid," Kate told her excitedly.

"Mermaid?" Madi crocked.

"Oh yeah, I'm gonna blow your mind with what I'm about to show you."

"Have fun," Magnus called after them as Kate led a rather wide eyed Madi from her office.


	5. Chapter 5

"Kate, have you seen Madi?" Magnus asked a few hours later.

"I showed her to one of the guest rooms after the tour. That was like half an hour ago."

"I checked there and couldn't find her."

"Maybe she went off exploring some more?"

"Maybe," Magnus said, frowning, but turning to leave.

She decided to give the girl some space. She had plenty of work to do; she'd go find her later that evening.

As much as she tried to get her work done, her thoughts kept wondering back to Madi. She just had this feeling that something wasn't right. Giving in, she typed a few keys on her computer and pulled up the feed for her gps tracker. It showed Madi as being in the Sanctuary, safe in the room Helen had given her. She chewed on her bottom lip, debating if she should go talk to the girl. She changed her mind half a dozen times before rising to her feet and heading in the direction of the residential corridors.

She knocked lightly on the door, but there was no response. Knocking again, a little louder this time, she turned the knob and opened the door just a crack.

"Madilynn, darling? Can I come in?"

Still no response. Walking fully into the room, she found it empty. Frowning, she checked the adjourning bathroom with no luck. A glint on the bed caught her eye and she went to inspect it. There, in the middle of the comforter, was Madi's gps enhanced tongue ring.

"Damn it," Magnus swore, rushing out of the room.

"Uh, Doc, we got a problem," Henry said, almost running into her in the hall.

"What is it, Henry?"

"I'm missing some stuff from my lab."

"What stuff exactly?"

"Well, Kate was giving Madi a tour earlier and they came down to the lab and I was showing them some of my new gadgets," he stammered.

"What's missing Henry?" Magnus repeated, getting frustrated.

"The lock pick I had built for Madi to use on Martelli's safe," he mumbled, hanging his head.

"Damn it!"

"What going on?" Will asked, having heard her cursing from his office and coming to investigate.

"Madi's run off to that blasted poker game," Helen spat, setting off towards her office.

"Could we pull her out?"

"Not without putting her at greater risk."

"So what do we do?" Henry asked.

"We have to wait for her to contact us somehow. She was fairly confident that she'd be able to get the ledger and the location for the lab tonight. We don't have any choice but to trust her at this point."

"Magnus, just relax. Madi knew the stakes, she must have thought it was worth the risk," Will tried to reason with her.

"If she's caught, he could kill her!" Helen snapped at him.

"Well, you said yourself, Doc, there's nothing we can do until she contacts us," Henry tried.

She growled at them both, pacing back and forth in front of her desk, clenching and unclenching her fists.

"Leave me be," she told them gruffly.

They scrambled to comply, racing to get out of her crosshairs. When they were gone she sunk into her chair, head in her hands, a chocked little sob escaping her lips.

* * *

 

Magnus didn't sleep at all that night. Her mind raced with the possibilities of what could be happening to Madi. She kept seeing her crumpled on the floor of the tunnels, those constricted pupils surrounded by stormy gray staring back up at her. She had no way of knowing if she was even alive and it was driving Helen crazy. She swore to herself that if Madi didn't make it out of this she'd personally see to it that Martelli paid.

She had a conference call with the Moscow head of house first thing the next morning. Her lack of sleep from the past two nights and her ever growing concern for Madi made her shorter than she normally would have been with him. She had very little patience for his prattling on about needing more money and a bigger facility. He was halfway through his justification for adding another wing to his already sizeable complex when Helen's phone began to vibrate on the desk next to her. Normally she would have ignored it, but with everything that was going on she couldn't risk not glancing at the caller ID. Her heart leapt into her throat when she recognized the number as being Madi.

"Excuse me, Andrei, something has come up. I'm afraid I'll have to call you back," Helen didn't wait for his response before cutting off the connection.

Snatching the phone from her desk, she frantically pressed the answer button.

"Madi? Is that you? Are you ok?" Helen stammered into the phone.

There was no response.

"Hello? Madi? Can you hear me?"

Still nothing. She pulled the phone away from her head, checking to make sure the call was still running and she hadn't lost the connection. Wedging the phone between her shoulder and her ear, in case there was suddenly chatter on the other end, she turned to her computer monitors. She ran a trace on the number, determining that it was located at Martelli's club, the Dragon's Nest.

"Madi, if you can hear me, I'm coming to get you. Just stay where you are, I'll be there in ten minutes," Magnus said into the silence on the other end.

She kept the line open as she whizzed through the streets of Old City, barreling towards her destination. Henry was monitoring the signal Madi's phone was projecting with explicit instructions to text her should anything change. There had still been no sound from Madi's end and the silence was beginning to grate at Magnus's nerves.

She parked her car rather haphazardly, jumping out without bothering to even turn off the ignition. It was only a matter of seconds before she'd picked the lock and was slipping into the dark club, free hand gripping her gun. Her phone dinged and she glanced down to see a text from Henry.

Women's bathroom. That was all it said. She took it to mean he'd managed to pinpoint the location of Madi's phone to an even greater accuracy than she'd achieved in her hurry to get down here.

"Madi?" She called out, her voice echoing across the empty dance floor.

Her heels clicked on the hard surface, the sound bouncing around eerily. The bathroom door squeaked loudly as she pushed it open. She found the light switch easily enough and flicked it, bathing the small space in light. It didn't take her long to determine Madi wasn't in the restroom. Hanging up, she quickly redialed and waited. The muffled sound of ringing met her ears. Scanning the room, her eyes fell on the trash bin mounted into the wall by the sink.

Reaching in, she dug around for a bit, rewarded when her she pulled out a small bundle. She recognized it almost immediately as being Madi's jacket. She searched the pockets until she found the burner phone and threw it uselessly back into the trash. Unwrapping the material from the ball it had been stuffed into, she uncovered a thick leather notebook. She opened it cautiously, already knowing what it was. Names, dates, and figures where scrawled across every page. Madi had done it; she'd managed to get the ledger.

As exciting as it was, it didn't ease Magnus's tension. Madi was still missing and she had no idea where to look for her. Tucking the book into her coat pocket, Helen exited the bathroom, leaving behind Madi's jacket with the promise to buy the girl a new one when she found her. She was just stepping back across the dance floor when she heard a door banging shut somewhere in the building. Magnus froze, pulling her gun out of the back of her skirt. She moved forward as quietly as possible. She was almost to the exit when a deep rumbling voice echoed behind her.

"Hey! What are you doing in here," it said out of the darkness.

"I left something here last night and was just coming back to get it. The door was unlocked, so I let myself in," she lied, letting her voice turn sweet as she tucked her gun into her skirt, her jacket falling to cover it.

"Yeah? And what's your name, cutie?" the voice asked, a large looming man appearing before her.

"Helen. What's your's?"

She was hoping she'd be able to sweet talk her way past him.

"Markus."

Magnus's eyes narrowed. This was the man that had 'had some fun' with Madi, as she'd described it. Helen wasn't a fool, she knew what that had meant. Her face was a careful mask as she stepped towards him, a fake smile plastered across her features. Taking her advance exactly as she'd known he would, he moved closer as well. When he was only about an arm's length away, she grabbed his shoulders with both hands, bringing her knee up harshly into his groin. Markus grunted, doubling over before toppling to the floor.

"That was for what you did to Madi," she told him, bending down to whisper in his ear.

Markus rolled onto his side, still cupping his no doubt throbbing groin, trying to get a look at her. She smiled down at him sweetly before kicking him in the stomach, getting alot of satisfaction from hearing the breath wheeze out of him.

"And that was for the countless other girls you've taken advantage of," she said before leaving him panting on the cold floor of the club.

* * *

 

"Please tell me you found something, Henry," Magnus said as she walked into his lab.

"It's more like what I didn't find," Henry told her, grinning.

She tried to smile at him in return, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"We already knew she took the safe cracker," he began again.

"It must have worked. She got the ledger," Magnus told him, waving the book at him.

"Really? That's awesome! I wasn't sure if the magnet sequencing would-"

"Focus, Henry."

"Right. I'm only missing two other things…"

"And that would be?" He was stalling and she knew it.

"Do you want the good or the bad first?" he asked with a sour look on his face.

"Bad," she sighed.

"She got one of my remotely activated detonators."

"What!?" She shrieked at him, making him wince.

"Yeah, I know. But there's good news, I promise," he hurriedly stammered. "She also got one of the extra gps body jewelry pieces I'd made. I'm not sure what it's called…it's that one that goes in that spot in your ear-"

"So you know where she is?" She interrupted him frantically.

"Not yet," he confessed with a frown. "I'm triangulation the signal now. It shouldn't be more than a few minutes."

As soon as the words were out, the computer pinged and a bright red dot came flashing to life against a map Henry had pulled up on the screen.

"There she is," he announced, pointing at the dot. "She's about thirty miles outside of town. I'm sending the coordinates to your phone right now."

"Good job, Henry," she told him, clapping him on the back.

Ten minutes later the team was loaded into the van and racing towards Madi's location. Everyone was quiet as they sped down the highway.

"Magnus, did you call the Captain?" Will asked, breaking the tense silence.

"No. I haven't had a chance to go through the ledger to get the names of the dirty cops on Martelli's payroll. I didn't want to risk tipping him off."

"But you called in some kind of back-up, right? We're not going in there alone are we?" Kate asked nervously.

"Of course not. I have a team on route as we speak. They may even beat us there," she reassured them all.

True to her word, Magnus's extraction team was standing by when they arrived. Black SUVs were parked across a dirt road, blocking entrance or exit to the property. Men in bullet proof vests were positioned behind the vehicles, guns ready should anyone try to leave the premises. More men were huddled over a folding table that had been erected behind the perimeter line. As soon as the van was parked, Magnus jumped out and headed straight for what was obviously the command station.

"Dr. Magnus," one of the men said, extending his hand for her.

"Joel," she replied, shaking the proffered hand firmly. "Thank you for coming out on such short notice. I really appreciate it. I owe you one."

"Not a problem. Always happy to help."

"So what do we have so far?" she asked, bending over to get a look at the papers strewn across the little table.

"There are two main buildings. Here and here," he told her, pointing at the figures on the satellite images before them. "The one on the left is the house. The one on the right the barn. There's also what appears to be a storm cellar located to the west of the house, here."

Magnus nodded.

"From what we've observed so far, we believe they're holding the abnormals in the barn. We suspect the actual production of the drugs is taking place in the cellar."

Again, Helen nodded to indicate she was following what he was saying.

"No one has tried to leave since we've arrived. It's unclear if they know we're here. My guess is no. They've taken no kind of defensive actions that would indicate otherwise."

"The element of surprise is always good."

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed with a small smile. "We've seen a few people going to and from the barn, but otherwise no movement in the house. We have yet to lay eyes on Martelli or the girl. And we have no way of knowing how many we'd be facing if we moved in."

"Anything your men can't handle?"

"I highly doubt it. We're very good at what we do."

"I'm aware. That's why I called you."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'm afraid I must warn you, however, that a remotely activated detonator was found missing from one of our labs. I'm not sure if Madi still has it on her, but it's a possibility. And I'd rather you be prepared than suffer the consequences."

Joel's face screwed up in a frown. He obviously hadn't been expecting that. Magnus sincerely hoped that the detonator wouldn't be set off, but she needed to make Joel and his men fully aware of the situation. If they chose not to follow her in, she wouldn't hold it against them. But back up or no, now that she was here she was going in for Madi.

"That may make things more difficult," he told her honestly.

"I understand if you or your men want to back out."

"No ma'am. We're here and we plan to help."

Magnus was touched. What did she ever do to gain so many peoples' loyalty to her?

"Plan of attack?"

"The road is the only way forward that allows some level of cover. Once on the property, we'll split into three teams of four. Red team will fan right, towards the barn, and extract the abnormals. Blue and Green teams will both go left before branching out, Blue covering the storm cellar and Green surrounding the house. On my signal, once the abnormals are cleared, Blue team will take the cellar and Green team will move into the house with Red team joining them once the abnormals are secure. Yellow team will remain behind to cover the exit and receive the hostages."

"Excellent. How soon can your men be ready, Joel?"

"Just say the word."

"Five minutes. I'm going to go speak with my people."

"You got it, Magnus."

Joel marched off to gather his troops and Helen made for the van. Henry, Will, and Kate were all standing around whispering amongst themselves, already in vests with guns holstered, at the ready. Opening the side doors on the van, she pulled out her own vest and donned it quickly. She tucked a knife into her boot and then checked the cartridge on her handgun before strapping it to her thigh. Finally noticing she was no longer occupied, her team hurried to her side.

"What do you want us to do, Doc?" Henry asked, sounding a little nervous.

"Yeah, how can we help, Magnus?" Will added.

"Henry, you and Will stay behind and help with the abnormals once they're extracted. Kate you're with me."

"Sweet!" Kate gushed, all too thrilled to get in on the action.

Thankfully neither Will nor Henry argued with her on staying behind. The tactical aspect of things wasn't really their strong suit. She gave them both a tight lipped smile and a nod before moving to join Joel in the center of their make-shift camp where he'd gathered his men. He was giving them all their assignments. He'd left two riffles on the folding table for Magnus and Kate and both women picked up their respective weapons.

Once everyone was clear on their orders, the group moved out. Kate was to go with Red team to rescue the abnormals that were being held for their venom. Joel was in charge of Blue team and taking the cellar. Magnus had chosen to lead the Green team, wanting to be one of the first people to get to Madi.

They trotted up the little road quickly, kicking up clouds of dirt as they went. The groups split seamlessly at the edge of the property, everyone expertly taking up their positions. Magnus held her breath as the Red team moved into the barn. They were hoping to get in and out without running into any of Martelli's men. The minutes stretched on until the team came pouring out with a group of frightened looking abnormals. Magnus and Joel waited for them to reach the relative cover of the road before motioning for their teams to move in.

She took the front door with one other man, having sent the other two around to the back. The man, she thought his name was Daniels, kicked in the door and they went storming in. Two men sat on a couch, watching tv. They both jumped to their feet at the intrusion, reaching for their guns, but she shot them down easily. Moving further into the house, they found a set of stairs leading to a second floor. They could hear the squeak of the floorboards above them, indicating there were indeed people up there. Daniels led the way up the stairs and onto the upper landing. The first room they tried was empty, as was the small bathroom.

There was only one door left for them to open. Daniels took up position against the door, hand on the knob, while Magnus stood opposite him, ready to cover him. She nodded at him once and he turned the knob, swinging the door wide as they both rushed in. The sight she was met with made Helen's stomach sink. The room held a large four poster bed with crumpled sheets and a table stood in the middle of the room. The table held piles of little baggies of white powder, pill bottles filled with dragon stamped tablets, vials of yellow liquid, and stacks of cash. Martelli was standing by the table, clutching a half-naked Madi to his chest and pressing a gun to her head.

"Dr. Magnus, how nice of you to join us!" Martelli taunted.

"Let her go, Martelli," She growled through clenched teeth.

"I don't think so, Helen," he replied with a little chuckled. "Let me tell you how this is going to work. I'm going to hand over the girl and you're going to let me go."

Magnus snorted. What kind of fool was Martelli? He had to know there was no way he was getting out of this.

"No deal," she told him tersely.

"Fine. I'll just kill her then," he said with a shrugged, releasing the safety on the gun.

"Stop!" Magnus cried.

A wicked grin crossed Martelli's face. He had her and he knew it. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Madi looked barely conscious and wasn't putting up any kind of struggle. Magnus took in the girl's appearance, gauging if Madi would be able to make a run for it if given the opportunity. It was pretty obvious that wasn't an option. Madi was in only her under garments, her boney too thin body exposed. The bruises from a few nights prior were prominent on her arms, as were new bruises across her collar bone, chest, and face. White powder was smeared around her nostrils and a rubber tie was wrapped around her arm just above her elbow. She didn't think it was possible, but her heart sunk even further at the sight. What had Martelli made her do? What had he given her?

"Madilynn, darling, are you ok?" Magnus asked, proud of herself for keeping the fear out of her voice.

"Oh she's fine," Martelli assured her.

"I wasn't talking to you," she snapped, eyes never leaving Madi.

Martelli shook Madi harshly and she started awake. Her breathing came in shallow huffs and Magnus could see the sheen of sweat across her brow.

"Madilynn?" Helen called.

At the sound of her voice, Madi groaned weakly.

"Answer her, whore!" Martelli screamed, shaking Madi again.

"Madi!" Magnus cried, terrified by the way her head was lulling back against Martelli's shoulder and he was having to literally hold her up.

The effort it took Madi to respond was evident, but eventually she was able to open her eyes enough to lock gazes with Helen. Magnus felt her breath hitch at the look in Madi's eyes. They were cloudy and unfocused, the pupils constricted to pinpricks surrounded by a deathly grey color.

" 'elen?" she croaked, voice barely a whisper.

"Yes, I'm here, darling," Helen said, her voice pained. "We're gonna get you out of here in a minute."

Madi shook her head infinitesimally.

" 'oot 'im" she said feebly.

"She won't shoot me," Martelli gloated. "She's too afraid she'll hit you or I'll be able to pull the trigger before her bullet finds its mark. She won't risk harming you. Though I don't know what she sees in a little whore like you."

"Stop calling her that!" Magnus yelled.

"Struck a nerve, have we?" he taunted.

"She's not a whore," Helen told him firmly, struggling to bring her voice back until control.

"Isn't she? Do you know what she does for me? What she'll do to get her drugs? Tell her, Madi. Tell her what a dirty little tramp you are."

Madi groaned.

"See? Even she knows she's nothing more than a worthless whoring street urchin."

"Shut up!"

"Did you really think she would ever be anything else?"

"Madi isn't a whore," Magnus stated firmly. "Do you hear me, Madilynn. You are not a whore. You are a very special girl and I promise you that I can give you any kind of life that you want."

Martelli laughed, the movement making Madi's head bounce on his shoulder.

"The only thing in Madi's future is a junkie's death."

Tears were tracking down Madi's cheeks, her body beginning to shake with silent sobs.

"Don't listen to him, Madi," Helen pleaded.

Martelli smirked at her. The hand holding the gun moved to grip Madi's chin, craning her neck painfully around so that he could kiss her lips.

"Get your lips off her, you filthy piece of shit!" Magnus cried.

Martelli chuckled, not stopping. The arm around Madi's shoulders shifted lower to cup one of her breasts. Madi let out a soft sob, the sound breaking Helen's heart.

"Bastard!"

Martelli ignored her, his lips moving up Madi's jaw until he was nipping at her ear.

"You like that, don't you? You little whore," he whispered loud enough for Magnus to hear.

A feral growl escaped Helen's throat and she took a threatening step closer to the pair, gun aimed at Martelli's temple. Martelli looked up at her then, tutting at her, signaling she shouldn't come any closer. Her gun was training on his head, finger itching on the trigger. He stretched Madi's neck out so that he could pepper kisses across the newly exposed skin, causing Madi to whimper. He glanced up at Magnus, evil sparkling in his eyes, his serpentine tongue flicking out to taste Madi's skin. Not breaking eye contact with Helen, Martelli bared his teeth and let out a hiss. Before she could stop him, he was sinking his sharp canines into Madi's neck.

"No!" Magnus screamed.

Madi sagged under Martelli, her whole body convulsing. A shot rang through the room and Magnus could see out of the corner of her eye Daniels' riffle jerking as it discharged. His bullet hit Martelli square in the forehead, blood splattering everywhere. The pair of them sank to the ground heavily, Martelli collapsing atop Madi's still shuddering body.

Magnus dropped her gun and rushed forward, shoving Martelli's body aside to get to Madi. She could hear Daniels' radioing for medics, but her attention was focused on the girl now in her arms. Tears were streaking her cheeks as she gently brushed the hair out of Madi's face. She put pressure on her still bleeding neck and used her free hand to take a pulse. It was faint, but it was there, and Madi was still breathing shallowly.

With steely determination, she rose shakily to her feet, Madi still gripped tightly in her arms. Daniels moved to help her, but she growled at him and he gave Magnus her space. She stumbled down the stairs and out of the house onto the front lawn. She barely took in the scene around her as the medics swarmed to her side. Carefully she placed Madi on the stretcher they presented.

"Dr. Magnus!" A voice broke through her haze.

She blinked and tried to focus her eyes on the young man speaking to her.

"Are you injured?" he asked again, looking her over with concern.

She shook her head, not able to find her voice.

"We're going to take Madi now. We'll do everything we can for her."

Madi's name broke through the final barriers clouding her mind. Suddenly everything snapped into focus for her.

"Thank you, but I'll be accompanying you," she told him, following the other medics to the van.

"I don't-" he tried to protest, but she interrupted him.

"Madilynn has been bitten by a very rare species of snake," she told him firmly. "I highly doubt you are equipped to properly treat her. That being said, she should be taken to my Sanctuary where I can give her what she needs."

The double meaning wasn't lost on Helen, but she didn't stop long enough for the young man to argue further. Sensing he was fighting a losing battle, he followed her to the med van and they both climbed in behind Madi before the doors were slammed shut and they were speeding away.


	6. Epilogue

Helen was asleep, exhaustion and emotional stress having finally taken their toll on her. The upper half of her body was slumped onto the hospital bed, her hand still wrapped around the slightly colder one. The twitching of fingers was what woke her up. Groaning, she blinked her eyes open. Nothing looked amiss; everything was exactly the way it had been for the last three days. The fingers she was gripping twitched again and her breath hitched in her throat. She was up and sitting on the bed in a second, her hands cupping the pale face in front of her. 

“Madilynn, darling, can you hear me?” 

Madi’s brow furrowed, eyebrows scrunching together adorably. 

“Madilynn, can you open your eyes for me?” 

Her lids fluttered open and she glanced around blurrily before her gaze settled on Helen. A small smile curled on her lips. 

“Hey,” Madi choked, sending herself into a coughing fit. 

“Don’t try to talk,” Magnus told her, reaching for a cup of water to the side of the bed. 

Carefully she guided the straw to Madi’s lips and the girl sucked greedily. Years of experience had taught her to only put a small amount of water in the cup, knowing her patient would want to overdo it at first. Magnus reached for a second cup filled with ice chips. Taking one between her fingers, she deposited it into Madi’s mouth. 

“Thank you,” Madi finally said, her voice a little stronger and no coughing fit triggered. 

“You’re very welcome.” 

They sat in comfortable silence for awhile, Helen feeding her ice chips. Deciding she’d had enough for now, Magnus returned the cup to its place by the bed. Turning back to Madi, she let out a deep shuttering breath. The hand she was holding squeezed her’s tightly. 

“I thought we’d lost you…that I’d lost you,” Helen confessed quietly. 

“Can’t get rid of me that easy,” Madi tried to joke. 

“Don’t ever do that again, do you understand me?” 

“Yeah,” she replied sheepishly. 

“You very nearly got yourself killed. What would have happened if we hadn’t been there to save you? Did you even think about that Madi?” 

“I knew you would find me.” 

It was a simple statement, one that held so much trust and confidence that Helen’s heart throbbed. 

“You were taking a very big risk.” 

They were silent again, Helen staring down at their entwined fingers. 

“So what now?” Madi finally asked. 

It was the question Helen had been dreading. What did they do now? She’d promised Madi a new life in exchange for her help taking down Martelli. Madi had held up her end of the bargain, now it was Magnus’s turn. With her connections Helen could send Madi just about anywhere she wanted to go, give her the means to build a new life. But she didn’t want to see her go. She wanted Madi to stay in Old City with her. It was selfish of her and she knew it. 

“You kept your end of the deal, it’s my turn to keep mine,” Helen told her. “I can send you wherever you want to go. Just name the place. I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of.” 

Madi stared at her blankly. Magnus tried to get a gauge on what the girl was thinking, but the face in front of her gave nothing away. 

“That’s not the deal I remember making,” Madi whispered. 

“What are you talking about? Of course it is. In exchange for your help bringing down Martelli, I would give you a new life. It was very clear.” 

Madi shook her head. 

“No.” 

“No?” 

“You promised that if I made it out of this alive we could see where things could go…between us,” Madi said, her voice becoming so quiet at the end that Magnus had to strain to hear her. 

“Oh,” Helen said, finally understanding. 

Madi’s cheeks colored, flushing a deep red. It was adorable. Magnus worried her bottom lip for a few seconds, trying to decide how she should approach this. It was something she’d been thinking about already, but not something she was going to bring up unless Madi did first. 

“It’s ok if you’ve…you know…changed your mind. Or you didn’t really mean it to begin with. I can understand if you don’t want to…be with…someone like me,” Madi stammered out, not looking at Helen. 

“Oh god, Madi, no! Don’t ever think that!” Helen pleaded.

Madi didn’t reply, her face still down cast and her bottom lip beginning to tremble. Helen wanted to kiss her until all her doubts melted away. And maybe bite down on that lovely pouting lip. But she stopped herself, wanting to get her point across first. 

“Someone like you is someone who’s brave and strong and passionate and a survivor…and beautiful. That’s what you are, Madilynn. That’s what I see when I look at you.” 

“But I’ve done so many horrible things!” Madi tried to protest. 

Magnus wasn’t having any of it though. Taking the girl’s chin in her hand, she forced Madi to look up into her eyes. They were brown tonight, just like the first night she’d seen her. She’d been keeping track of the changes and she thought she had a pretty good idea as to what the color meant in this instance. 

“I want you to listen very carefully to what I’m telling you, Madilynn. Do you understand me?” 

Madi nodded mutely, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. 

“You are not a whore. Martelli was wrong. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your past. What concerns me is what you do in the future.” 

She waited for her words to sink in before continuing. 

“I would very much like to be a part of that future, Madilynn. But I’m afraid it isn’t all that simple,” Helen told her sadly. “I’m a very busy woman, my life is very complicated and chaotic, I couldn’t give you the attention or the time you deserve. And you do deserve someone’s full love and care.” 

“But you’re willing to try?” Madi ventured. 

Helen sighed. 

“Yes, darling, I’m willing to try.” 

An infectious grin broke out across Madi’s face and Helen found herself smiling back. Unable to resist any longer, she closed the small distance between them, capturing Madi’s lips with her own. It was soft and sweet, brief. Madi sighed happily, her eyes closed. Helen kissed her cheek. With her lips hovering over Madi’s ear she whispered to her softly. 

“I only have one condition.” 

“Anything,” Madi breathed. 

Helen smirked in triumph. 

“I won’t have sex with you while you’re still a teenager.” 

“What? That’s so not fair! Do you know how long it is ‘til my birthday?” 

“Eight months and eleven days,” Helen told her seriously. 

Madi’s jaw dropped open in surprise. She shut it quickly though. Her arms crossed over her chest and she let out a little humph. 

“That’s a really long time!” she whined. 

“I promise I’ll make it worth your while,” Helen whispered huskily, nipping at Madi’s ear. 

Madi groaned, a shiver that had nothing to do with being cold racing through her body. 

“Fine,” she finally sighed. “But what are we supposed to do in the mean time?” 

“Date,” Helen told her simply. 

“Date?” Madi scuffed. 

“What?” 

“The great Helen Magnus…dating,” Madi laughed. 

“Do you not want to date me?” she said, adding just the right hint of doubt to cover her own amusement. It was a rather outlandish idea. Magnus hadn’t ‘dated’ someone in decades. 

“No no no,” Madi back pedaled quickly. “I didn’t say that.” 

“Oh relax, I was just teasing,” she reassured her. 

Madi relaxed instantly, smiling weakly at her. 

“So we’re in agreement? You’ll stick around the Sanctuary and we’ll…date?” 

“Yeah, sounds like a plan.” 

“Good.” 

“But Helen?” 

“Yes, darling?” 

“Eight months and eleven days from now…I’m so jumping your bones.” 

Helen laughed, a full out belly laugh. It felt good after the stress of the last several days. 

“I look forward to it, darling,” she said, leaning in to brush her lips against Madi’s once again.

**Author's Note:**

> I fell in love with Adeclanfan and chartreuseian's original characters that I decided to dabble in it myself. I don't expect her to be anywhere near as wonderful as their's, but I thought I'd challenge myself creatively. Thus this series was born.


End file.
